Studying the Beast
by whitetiger91
Summary: Colin wishes he had gotten the full story off Luna before agreeing to her Care of Magical Creatures project.


_**A/N: This story was written as an entry for The Houses Competition, Year 3, Round 6.**_

 _ **House: Gryffindor**_

 _ **Year: 5 (Head Girl standing in)**_

 _ **Category: Drabble**_

 _ **Prompts: 1. [First line] I didn't have the full story when I made this choice.**_

 _ **Word count: 746 words (written on Google docs)**_

 ** _Betas: Thank you to Shiba (Shibalyfe) for beta'ing! Xx_**

 ** _Additional A/N: It's almost 3am right now, so if this story makes one iota of sense, I owe it all to my wonderful Prefect, Shiba. This is a really silly tale, so I hope you enjoy it. This is set around the fifth book._**

 ** _(Read after if possible; won't affect your understanding of the story; minor spoiler) I know technically students can't enter another's common room, but I'm sure the school made exceptions frequently. I also know I'm poking fun of one character, but I actually admire her courage (particularly in the last book/ movie); this is all written in good fun. The use of 'it' is simply for fun, too; if you imagine Colin's teenage mind, you'll know what I mean._**

 ** _Thank you for reading! Xx_**

* * *

 **Studying the Beast**

I didn't have the full story when I made this choice. If I'm perfectly honest, I wasn't even aware I'd agreed to it at all. One moment, Luna was insisting that the beast she wanted us to study would earn us top marks, and the next, I found myself unable to say no to her dreamy eyes.

Now, as we head towards the creature's lair, I really wish I had said no.

"Are you sure you don't want to study something else? What about Pygmy Puffs? I'm sure Ginny wouldn't mind lending us Arnold."

"No thank you, Colin; I've already had enough conversations with him to know that he's not suitable for this project," Luna says, giving me a smile as she skips ahead.

It's almost enough to ease my rapidly beating heart—almost. As we duck through the entrance to the creature's dwelling, I find my hands and knees begin to tremble. I try to think of something less dangerous to study that would fascinate her.

"What about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks? Or a—er—a Snuffaluffagus? We could search the Forbidden Forest."

She turns to me with an eyebrow raised, but her silver eyes are focused on my head. "I was worried the Wrackspurts had affected you. Crumple-Horned Snorkacks don't live in the forest. I also don't know what a Snuffaluffagus is; are you sure it exists?"

As I simply blink, she presses a finger to her lips and motions for me to crawl over to a shadowed spot.

"Get your camera ready," she whispers.

I hope she doesn't see me gulp as I lift the camera to my eye line. Just in front of our hiding place, I catch a glimpse of the creature's golden mane.

"Ooooooooooooooooooooh!"

I almost drop my camera as the creature's howl makes me jump out of my skin. I close my eyes and try to even my heartbeat; I'm sure it'll be able to hear it.

Luna doesn't seem nearly as worried. She's already got her quill out and is hastily scribbling notes in her notebook. I watch as she peers over our hiding spot, examining the creature in its natural habitat.

"Can apparently read," she mutters to herself.

This gets my attention. Taking a deep breath and moving as quietly as a mouse, I take a peek at the creature. It's true that its blue eyes are trained on what looks to be some sort of magazine, but I don't really consider that reading. It seems the creature is more focused on the images, perhaps drawn in by the bright colours.

It soon loses interest, anyway, and turns to its claws. I quickly duck back down as it begins to sharpen them.

Luna nudges me, and I almost jump out of my skin again.

"Take a picture," she says, her voice sounding way louder than it really is.

I quickly shake my head, forgetting that I'm supposed to be a Gryffindor. I've always wanted to be considered brave—just like Harry—but I know that there's a difference between bravery and stupidity.

"She won't bite," Luna says, giving me a knowing smile.

I have no idea how she does that; maybe she can communicate with these Wrackspurts supposedly floating around my head? Still, I don't want her to think I'm a coward.

"I'm not so sure," I mutter, taking a deep breath and standing up.

Through the lens, I can see the beast glaring at me, no doubt angry that I've disturbed it.

"I—I just want t-to take—to take your p-picture." I don't even care that my voice comes out as a squeak. "For an assignment."

I hold my breath as the creature seems to listen to my words. Slowly, it gives a nod, and to my relief, even starts posing. I snap a few pictures as quickly as I can before nodding to Luna.

"Thank you!" she calls as we run out of the lair.

Once we're safely outside the Gryffindor common room, I sigh. "I thought she was going to rip me to shreds. Are you sure Professor Hagrid will count this?"

Luna nods. "Oh yes. If you ask me, teenage girls are the most interesting beasts of them all. Did you see how long it took Lavender to choose a nail polish? They all looked exactly the same. Really, fascinating stuff."

As she skips off to her own common room, I shake my head. Next time, I'll be sure to get the full story before agreeing to one of Luna's ideas.


End file.
